Cricket For Kids: A Safe, Fun Sport That Prizes Sportsmanship

September 17, 2010

Everyone agrees that adults must take responsibility for themselves.
What is concerning, however, is that the examples of intense, dangerous
play that many pro athletes provide gradually become the accepted norm
in the sports our children play. My son was a victim of just this sort
of reckless environment when, as a 12 year-old football player, he had
his arm broken in two places by an opposing player who targeted him from
across the field for a blindside hit.

A recent LA Times editorial dealt with the increasing frequency of pediatric concussions, and drew a
direct correlation to the types of sports played and the
hyper-competitive sports environment in which we now raise our children.

Here's an excerpt:

"According to a study published in the
journal Pediatrics in August that examined U.S. emergency room visits
from 1997 to 2007, the number of concussions related to the five most
popular competitive youth sports more than doubled among this age group,
even though participation in those sports declined slightly. Among 14-19 year-olds, the number of concussions tripled. Altogether, there
were about 250,000 concussions among young competitive athletes.

The numbers might reflect parents and coaches seeking immediate
medical attention for children's head injuries. But researchers believe
other factors are involved as well, such as longer, more intense playing
seasons and practices...

More research is needed on the causes and long-term effects of
concussion on children and teenagers. But youth athletic leagues, state
health officials and schools should be taking action now. Lisa Bakhos,
the lead researcher on the Pediatrics study, suggests a return to more
varied sports activities for children, played more for fun and less as
structured competition. Youth league rules should be modified to reduce
blows to the head, and parents should be informed about concussion risks
from the start. Parents of a child who sustains two concussions should
be counseled to consider whether it might be time for a switch to a
sport such as running, with less potential for head injury."

At the United States Youth Cricket Association, we are committed to
bringing a fun and safe sport that prizes sportsmanship above all else
to American children. Prince George's County PE teacher Charles
Silberman agrees. In the September 15 issue of Md AHPERD eNEWS, he said this:

"As physical education teachers, we have a wonderful opportunity to
use sport as a way to teach character and build students' esteem. I
would make your next unit specifically character-based using sports as
the venue or start to implement a character-based behavior system into
your teaching. Three examples of these suggestions are described below.

The first is the game of Cricket. Yes, cricket! In cricket,
disrespect is not allowed. If a player looks at the umpire the wrong
way, he can be suspended for multiple games without pay. Because around
80% of our communication is non-verbal, and a majority of students
display disrespect with body posturing, I love using Cricket to
highlight the importance of non-verbal communication and express that
there are consequences for all disrespectful actions. In addition,
teaching a new and foreign sport allows students to learn about another
culture and how others may view our students character traits such as
disrespect. This, then, becomes a launching board for discussing
character more in detail and also acts as a mirror where students can
see how their value system looks to others. Once they see this, they
begin to internalize the notion that others receive poor principles
negatively and that they might need to change their value system if they
want to operate in the outside world."

Clearly, cricket is demonstrating its value for schools and for
children, and as the number of boys and girls playing our game grows it
will certainly take its place among America's most popular sports.